Ingredients

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or Bundt pan.

Put the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat for several seconds. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and beat for 2 minutes, or until light and creamy. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and stir with a fork to blend well. Add the flour mixture to to the butter mixture and beat until smooth. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix well.

Spoon the batter into the pan. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a straw comes out clean when inserted into the center. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Invert onto a rack and cool a little bit before slicing. Serve warm.

SELECT LATEST REVIEWS

I have made this numerous times since it was published following the collapse of the trade center towers. A touching tribute to volunteers.
This cake is enhanced by adding figs or blueberries if desired. I sometimes put a cinnamon and brown sugar, butter crumble in middle of batter. Delicious and a family favorite.

sallyleclair from Coastal Maine / 11.24.13

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I wanted a rather plain coffee cake to serve with tea in the morning. This is it. Not terribly sweet. Very simple. Excellent with fruit. I used light sour cream and baked 40 min. Moist. Nice crumb. Next time I will try with regular sour cream to see if it makes a difference.

marrella from NC / 06.25.13

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in spite of the super thick batter, the cake came out well. i checked at 40 min but 50 was necessary for my regular oven with a thermometer to double check temp. i'll definitely try the light sour cream suggestion. when i made this many years ago in a convection oven in asia, the only sour cream i could find was from new zealand, more similar the light variety in the US.

xuhui / 03.23.11

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is the batter
supposed to be
really thick and not
at all like cake
batter consistency?
i just finished
mixing and am ready
to pour into pan but
afraid the cake will
be too dry. the
batter is so thick
and heavy. wondering
if i did something
wrong? perhaps my
organic sour cream
was too thick and
heavy?

xuhui / 03.21.11

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a regular goto for
comfort! as another
reviewer pointed
out, the texture is
wonderful. after
making in various
ovens with various
sour creams and in
various countries,
two suggestions for
a moister cake: 1)
use light sour
cream; 2) check for
doneness around 40
min. 50 min was too
long for a regular
oven, but just right
for a convection.

A Cook / 05.03.09

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After reading all of the reviews I was a bit sceptical about this cake. What a pleasant outcome! I substituted organic "VANANA" yogurt for the sour cream, about 1/2 c sugar instead of 1 c. At the end I added about a cup of each choc. chips and walnuts. Other than that I followed the recipe almost exactly. It has a beautiful crispy outside, and it's just crumbly enough to be coffee cake. I LOVED it! My husband raved the whole time he ate it!

erinviolet from Seattle, WA / 09.02.06

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I thought it was tasty--worked for me. It's not a whack you over the head kind of deal--it's a coffee cake.

A Cook from Lower East Side / 02.03.03

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Even the Fonz won't eat this.

Chef from Minneapolis, MN / 12.11.02

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No real taste, very disappointing.

A Cook / 09.05.02

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I have made this recipe at least 5 times since December and have always gotten rave reviews. It is so versatile. I've served it with fruit, a bit of liqueur, and whipped cream, plain with blueberry sauce, just plain, toasted. A friend won a bet and his choice of prize was this coffee cake.